Happiness
by Cherry chain
Summary: Julius enters another fractured dimension, another reminder of what could have been


The rift dumped him somewhere in Trigleph. It didn't take long for Julius to get his bearings in the familiar city, the commercial district rising up around him, the Spirius building looming up above with a dark, watchful eye. Better stay low-profile; he might be wanted in this world too.

NO.F4244 had a low divergence, but a high depth. Julius could count the number of people with the power to enter this world on the back of one hand. Maybe, just _maybe_, there was the chance of a waymarker existing in this world. It was time to get to work.

First thing's first, grab a copy of the daily papers. Almost all of the reading Julius did in his free time was of newspapers, giving him a good frame of reference for most dimensions that wasn't in the future. Anything major he'd always be able to pick up just from a cursory glance.

The absence of a certain topic immediately caught his attention. No mentions at all of the terrorist hijacking, of the attack on Oscorpe that should have happened a month ago according to the date. With a starting point to work with, Julius headed for the train station to see what he could learn about the ceremonial train.

He was moving to talk to one of the employees at the booth when a familiar voice sounded behind him and Julius turned immediately to face the speaker.

"Julius? What are you doing here? You told me you'd be out of town for a few days." Ludger approached and Julius was hit by just how _young_ the other looked. His eyes bright, innocent, full of curiosity paired with a grin at the sight of his brother. No weapons adorned his side, no hardness and mistrust and hesitation in his steps. No Spirius pin at his collar, instead replaced by a well-worn apron and the nametag of a train station employee. Cafeteria cook. Hands clean of blood.

A forced, practiced smile graced his own face as Julius slipped out of his role of Agent and into the familiar mantle of Big Brother. Lying, acting— it all came so easily.

"I had some business to take care of back at the office," he explained blithely, and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at the station. "Can't stay for long, I'm leaving on the next train."

A flash of disappointment at that piece of news crossed Ludger's face before he hid it. "Oh, okay then. Well, do you have time for a meal at least? I can whip up something quick; the food on the train isn't nearly as good as mine."

Julius wanted to say yes. To sit down and spend some time with this Ludger in a world where it hadn't gone wrong.

_He's just a fracture. He's not real._

"Sorry kiddo, I have important work to do, and so do you. You have more people to feed than just me now."

Ludger looked back at the post he had temporarily abandoned with a guilty look and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll catch you later then. And please do try to come home in one piece."

Julius watched his little brother go with a pang.

—-

Mirrored green eyes stared back at him first with shock, then dismay, and then finally resignation, the swap between the states occurring within mere seconds. The Fractured Julius stared blankly at the spear in Prime Julius's hand.

"I've had the sneaking suspicion for a while that this wasn't the prime dimension…" the copy said mournfully, voice tinged with regret. As Julius approached, the dark wisps of the Catalyst glowed within the other's body. The copy looked down to examine it curiously.

"Ah, and I've been trying so hard. Vera found out, you know that? She fixed the family register. But I talked to her, changed it back. I had been _so close_ to letting him get involved, but I saved him." The other's gaze moved up from the spear to Julius's face, and a hollow chuckle escaped his copy's mouth. "I guess it doesn't matter now, does it?"

Julius kept his heart cold, his mouth in a tight firm line. _Don't talk to them_. That was one of his rules. Don't talk to them, don't _care_. But he had already broken the rules this dimension with the fractured Ludger.

He approached another cautious step, ready for a fight. It wouldn't be easy, not against himself. But the other shook his head, raising both hands in surrender and Julius nearly flinched at the sound of metal striking concrete. Two pocketwatches fell to the ground, discarded, given up. Julius paused.

"I understand, do what you have to do. For him. But can you just tell me one thing first?" The Fractured asked.

The Prime tensed, hesitated, then nodded.

"How is he doing?"

_Julius watched from afar, hidden, a silent guardian as he saw the tired figure of his brother sitting alone on the park bench. Eyes empty, staring down at hands still stained with the blood of the world he had just returned from. Shaking. A new gash down the side of his battle-tattered clothes. A silent sob wracking his body._

_Julius's heart hurt for his younger brother, to see Ludger breaking under the weight of a life he would never wish upon anyone. He moved in, overcome with the need to pull that boy into his arms, to provide him a safe place to hide, someone to rely on—_

Julius's grip on his spear shook, remembering the Ludger he had only talked to so recently. Innocent, oblivious, going about his daily life as a normal person. Unburdened with the curse of the Kresniks.

The Julius in this world was the catalyst, the divergence, because _this_ Julius had succeeded in protecting their only family.

"He's happy," The Prime lied, and drove the spear through his own mirrored heart.

_Tick, tock  
___— _—tick,__ tock…_

His counterpart's eyes were serene, at peace as they closed. The world shattered into a thousand pieces.


End file.
